Although Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said Wednesday's scrimmage wasn't about winning or losing, if you had to pick a winner, it was clearly the Tigers' offense.

The team's second scrimmage of spring practice wasn't a perfect effort by any means; Swinney said its defense "didn't bring the right body language" while the offense took too many sacks and exemplified the "feast or famine" explosiveness fans often saw during the 2017 season.

Still, with so many players throughout the depth chart contributing, the Tigers' self-proclaimed "quality depth" on offense seems intact after losing a pair of starting wide receivers and two starting linemen.

“I feel like we’re right on track," starting quarterback Kelly Bryant said. "Still working to be better but just seeing the quality of depth that we have at all positions has really been pleasing to see throughout these few weeks of spring ball.”

Clemson's depth at quarterback was especially apparent, as all four threw at least one touchdown. Bryant, in particular, established himself as the leader of the pack with four touchdown passes.

It was an almost metaphorical performance for a player who's been asked to win the job after throwing for 2,802 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in his first year as Clemson's starter in 2017; no matter how good Brice, Johnson, and Lawrence are, Bryant simply has to be better.

And not just in the eyes of his coaches, but also of a vocal minority of Tigers fans who would rather see one of the team's former five-star gunslingers, Johnson or Lawrence, taking snaps under center.

Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant (2) celebrates after being name MVP of the Tigers 38-3 ACC championship win over Miami at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Saturday, December 2, 2017.(Photo: BART BOATWRIGHT/Staff)

After leading Clemson to an ACC championship and the College Football Playoff, one would think Bryant earned the benefit of the doubt. Instead, it seems he's in a similar position as last spring when the early-enrollee Johnson drew some hype to replace Deshaun Watson.

This time around, it's the nation's top recruit, Lawrence, that has the media's and fan base's attention.

“Everybody wants to talk about everything else that’s coming in but me, I just go back to work and let everybody do the talking," Bryant said. "Everybody wants to write me off but I’m still here and I ain’t going nowhere.”

For what it's worth, Clemson's coaches have unanimously said Lawrence looks as good as advertised so far, displaying both arm talent and confidence beyond his age. Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott famously compared the true freshman to his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, in that he continues to test his arm to see what he can get away with.

And just like a toddler knowingly breaking the rules, Lawrence's boldness hasn't always paid off, but he's also gotten away with a few throws that a freshman probably shouldn't get away with against an elite defense like Clemson's.

"He’s picking up things very quickly. He doesn’t look like a true freshman that showed up in January," Scott said. "He’s one of those guys that as soon as he learns it one time, he knows it. He can regurgitate it and does really well in meetings.”

Bryant's performance Wednesday could go a long way, considering the word out of camp so far is the parity at quarterback.

Scott even went so far as admitting to not being able to differentiate the passers if he doesn't see who throws the ball.

"I wish I could tell you that one guy’s taking off but it’s really not," Scott said. "I continuously catch myself, because I’m watching my guy as the play’s going on and see a great throw or great decision, and go back and say ‘who threw it?’ If I’m charting it, it’s pretty even across the board.

"All those guys are having their moments but then they also have some moments when they make some poor decisions or the defense kind of caught them off guard. I’m optimistic of where we are at quarterback.”

While the world outside of Clemson has hyped this position battle as some sort of free-for-all bout between Ali, Frazier and Foreman, Bryant said it's less like a heavyweight fight and more like a competition between brewing friends.

They've been pushing each other since the 2017 season ended and quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter complimented Bryant's transition to a senior leader in his fourth year in the program.

“They’ve all developed a great relationship and I take pride in that and these guys take pride in that in my room," Streeter said in February. "They’re going to be brothers, they’re going to be encouraging each other, they’re going to help each other out because it does no good to have negative feelings about the guy sitting next to you … Kelly is just that type of guy, he wants to get better and he wants to help people. That’s why he’s such a good leader.”

“People just want to look at it as a competition. Of course, we’re competing but we’ve actually grown off the field," Bryant said. "It’s a great group of guys, me being the senior and the old head, kind of taking them under my wing and showing them the ropes. We all compete but at the same time we help each other.”

Fans will get a chance to see Clemson's quarterbacks at the annual spring game on April 14 at Memorial Stadium. The game is far from an "end-all-be-all" when it comes to deciding the team's starters, but Lawrence, Johnson or Brice is perceived to outplay Bryant, it will certainly open up another round of questions during the four months before fall camp opens.

But Bryant said doubters can continue to do what they do best. When they doubted him last season, he simply did what he does best — thrive on their skepticism.

“I don’t think anything’s changed for me (since last spring)," he said. "There’s still questions so I’m still going back to work, trying to keep the confidence in myself … I love it, tell those people to keep on questioning me.”